Spring clamp



o. F. TALLMAN ,203,621 SPRING CLAMP Filed Aug. 19, 1937 Mum 70B 0504/2 E 7I4LLMA/Y Arm/ems-v Patented June 4, 1940 .Oscar F. Tallman, St.

Louis, Mo., assignor to James R. Kearney Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application August 19,

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to clamps for electrically connecting grounding wires, tap wires, and other electrical conductors to power N lines and the like, and more specifically to a clamp of this sort which is of the spring. type as differentiated from the well known type of elec-v trical clamp which includes jaws arranged for mechanical relative movement into clamping engagement with a power line or other electrical conductor, the predominant object of the invention being to provide an improved clamp of the spring type which though of extremely simple and inexpensive construction and arrangement is capable of performing its intended function in a highly efficient manner.

Fig.1 is a side elevation of the improved clamp, the pole or clamp stick thereof being broken away to conserve space.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the clamp mu..- trated in Fig. l. V Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2. a

Fig. 4 is .a horizontal section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 illustrates a slightly modified form of the invention where the clamp is provided with a bar adapted to support associated clamps in cluster arrangement.

In the drawing, wherein are shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, two embodiments of the invention, A designates in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive the improved clamp generally. The

45 which as shown clearly in Fig. 5 is hollow and preferably is of elliptical. shape when viewed in horizontal section, said extensionbeing located at one side of the head i and the top wall If base of said extension.

Supported by the head i is an element 5 which serves as one of the clamping members of the clamp A, said element including a pair of paralclamp A includes a head I which is in the gen lel portions 511 (see Fig. 5) which are extended 1937, Serial No. 159,922 (01. 24-25s into the hollow extension 5 of the head I. .he interior dimensions of the hollow extensions are slightly greater than the combined dimensions of the parallel portions 5a of the element 5 so that a space is provided between the inner wall of the hollow extension and the outer surfaces of said parallel portions, and a body of anchoring material such as solder, lead, or other suitable .material 6 is introduced, preferably in a are split and spread outwardly as indicated at 5b in Fig. 3 so as to effectively anchor the parallel portions 5a of the element 5 in the hollow extension 4 of the head I.

Theelement 5 is preferably made in two parts of similar shape, each part including one of the lower portions 5a,. a lower outwardly extended. portion 50, a vertically extended portion 5d, and an upper inwardly extended portion 5e. The

vertical portions 501 of the. element 5 are ar- I ranged in opposed parallel relation and the inwardly extended portions are projected toward each other preferably with a slight space between the adjacent inner end faces of said inwardly extended portions as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Mounted at the upper end of the element 5 is atubular member I which is split longitudinally from end to end at the bottom .thereof. By re.-

ferring to Fig. 4 it will be noted that the split at the bottom of the tubular member 3' is in the form of relatively wide opening portions 8 ex tended inwardly from the opposite ends of said tubular member, and these relatively wide opening portions are joined by a narrower intermediate opening portion 9. The tubular member I is assembled with the upper portion of the element 5 by introducing the inwardly extended portions 5e into the hollow interior of said tubular member, the extreme upper end portions of the opposed vertical portions 5d of said element 5 being disposed in the wider opening portions 8 of the split at the bottom of said tubular member as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 whereby the tubular element is prevented from rotating.

. The clamp A includes a second clamping member M which is preferably formed from a single length of material. The clamping member H! is provided with spaced apart eyes I l which embrace the tubular member I, and slightly curved portions l2 extend downwardlw from said eyes in convergent relation to a point approximately midway of the length of the clamping member. The lower portion of the clamping member l9 takes the form of a narrow loop it, which extends downwardly and inclines outwardly from the lower ends of the convergent portions l2. Because of the presence of the eyes l! embracing the tubular member l the clamping member H3 is capable of arcuate swinging movement about said tubular member. 1

The improved clamp is provided with a spring element !4 which includes a portion that is wound spirally aboutthe tubular member l as is shown to the best advantage in Fig. 3, said spiral portion Ma being provided at the inner end thereof with a lip M-b which is extended into the opening portion 3 of the split at the bottom of the tubular member i so as to anchor said inner end of'the spiral portion of the springelement to thetubular member. The spring ele ment includes also a downwardly and outwardly projected extension 25 which contacts with the clamping member H3 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, said extension of the spring element also being provided with a lip it. The

Y winding of the spiral portion of the spring element is such that the lower end of the extension l5 thereof tends to move the clamping member It toward the element 5 which provides the a sociated clamping member of the clamp. As shown in Figs. 2 and l the spring element 4 is of substantial width and the spiral portion of said spring element is disposed about the tubular member 1 of the clamp at a point between the eyes ll of the movable clamping member iii.

g The head i isprovided with a laterally projected extension I? which has an opening I8.

formed therein, said opening being of approximately semicircular shape as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. This opening is open at one side face of the extension, and at the opposite side face thereof av relatively small opening 19 is provided which communicates with the opening it. The shank portion of a bolt Zll is extended throughth-e opening I9 and this belt is provided with an eye 2! which is partially disposed in the semicircular opening l8, said shank portion of said bolt having a nut 22 mounted thereon which may bemanipulated to draw the eye of the bolt inwardly of the semicircular opening 58. The

extension ll is provided with wire seats 23 5) above and below the semicircular opening 58 p and the eye 2| of the bolt 2!] is provided with upwardly and downwardlyextended projections 24 which are likewise provided with wire seats 25. When it is desired to attach a ground wire or other electrical conductor to the clamp an end portion of such wire is introduced between the wire seats of the extension I! and the projections 2d of the eye of the bolt 26. The nut of the bolt isthen rotated to draw the eye of the bolt inwardly of the semi-circular opening is whereby said wire is clamped between said wire seats as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, wherein the grounding wire or other electrical conductor is designated by the reference character 26.

When in the use of the improved clamp it is desired to apply same to a power line or other electrical conductor the clamp, with aground wire or other conductor attached thereto, is elerated with the aid of the pole or clamp stick forming a part thereof until the lower end portion I3 of the clamping member It) may be passed over the power line or other electrical conductor.

When the clamp has been so positioned that the power line or other electrical conductor is located in the crotch formed by the downwardly and outwardly inclined lowerportion l3 of the clamping member HI and the adjacent face of portions 5d of the element 5 as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, wherein'the power line or other electrical conductor is shown by dotted lines and is designated by the reference character 28.

The form of the improved clamp illustrated in Fig. 6 includes a cluster bar 29 which extends outwardly in opposite directions from the head 1 thereof. .This cluster bar is intended to receive and support other clamps ofthe improved con struction when it is desired to use the clamps in cluster assembly. r I claim: I 1 l. A clamp comprising a fixed clamping member formed from elongated material bent to provide the fixed clamping member with opposed side portions and a transverse portion located 1 between the upper ends of said opposed side portions, a movable clamping member formed from elongated material bent to provide opposed portions provided with eyes at their upper ends which embrace said transverse portion of said choring said spring element to said transverse portion of said fixed clamping member.

2. A clamp comprising a fixed clamping member formed from elongated lengths of material bent to provide the fixed. clamping member with opposed side portions and inwardly extended portions at the upper ends of said opposed side portions, a movable clamping member formed from an elongated length of material bent to provide opposed portions provided with eyes at their upper ends which embrace said inwardly extended portions of the fixed clamping member to pivotally attach said movable clamping member to said fixed clamping member, a spring element wound spirally about said inwardly extended portions of the fixed clamping member and provided a portion extended. from said spirally wound portion which engages said movable claznping member, and means fixedlysupported by said inwardly extended portions of said fixed clamping member and arranged in engagement with said spring element for anchoring said spring element to said inwardly IExtended portio s of said fixed clamping mem- 3. A clamp comprising a fixed clamping member formed from elongated lengths of material bent to provide the fixed clamping member with opposed side portions and inwardly extended portions at the upper ends of said opposed side portions, a tubular element non-rotatably supported by and embracing said inwardly extended portions of said fixed clamping member, a movable clamping member formed from an elongated length of material bent to provide opposed spaced apart portions provided with eyes at their upper ends which embrace said tubular element, and a spring element wound spirally about said tubular element and provided with a portion extended from said spirally wound portion which engages said movable clamping member.

4. A clamp comprising a fixed clamping mem' ber formed from elongated material bent to provide the fixed clamping member with opposed side portions and a portion disposed between the upper ends of said opposed side portions, a tubular element non-rotatab1y supported by and embracing said portion of said fixed clamping member which is disposed between the upper ends of the opposed side portions thereof, a movable clamping member formed from an elongated length of material bent to provide opposed spaced a-part portions provided with eyes at their upper ends which embrace said tubular element, and a spring element wound spirally about said tubular element and provided with a portion extended from saidspirally wound portion which engages said movable clamping member. I

OSCAR F. TALLMAN. 

